Brian Daboll and the Giants qualified for the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2016, and now New York could very well shake up the rest of the NFC.
Despite being locked into the No. 6 seed in the postseason, Daboll hinted that he didn’t have any thoughts about resting his starters in a Week 18 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The game is rather meaningless for the Giants — again, New York will be the No. 6 seed regardless of a Week 18 outcome — but it holds crucial playoff implications for the Eagles, NFC East and conference in general.
If the Eagles beat the Giants, Philadelphia will claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC and win the NFC East.
If the Giants beat the Eagles, however, the Dallas Cowboys ultimately could win the division. Dallas, of note, would need to beat the Washington Commanders in Week 18 as well.
And if the Eagles lose to the Giants either the San Francisco 49ers or Cowboys could earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC and thus a first-round bye. If Philadelphia loses in Week 18, they’d need both the 49ers and Cowboys to also lose in order to maintain the top seed.
“No. No,” Daboll told reporters after New York’s dominant Week 17 victory when asked if he’d given any thought into resting his players for Week 18, per the team.
“You can rest after the season,” Daboll added. “This is the fun part of the season. It’s the fun part of the season when you’re winning, bad part of the season when you’re losing.”
Daboll was asked another follow-up question about potentially sitting his starters and again shot it down before adding that he wants to enjoy the playoff-clinching victory. It seemingly painted the picture the Giants will go for a win in Week 18 as opposed to resting its players.
It’s a decision at least three teams elsewhere in the NFC will be paying close attention to.
